Crash (and Burn) on Your Couch
by Shaud
Summary: Pacifica Northwest had far from a perfect life, that much Dipper knew. But, as smart as he is, he didn't really put the pieces together until Grunkle Stan and Ford got involved. Now he just hopes that Pacifica, Ford, and Stan can fix each other before it's too late for any of them. [Child abuse and other dark themes present]
1. Cold as You

**Trigger warnings for the whole story about depression, child abuse, and suicidal thoughts/situations. Read at your own risk.**

 **Also, this deviates from canon in that the first season was about two years, and season two takes place on the third year, making the twins and Pacifica 14.**

* * *

The dusty room filled me with dread. All of the lies my family had told, stored away for some unknown reason. Why had my parents kept all of the evidence? Were they proud of it?

Probably.

My eyes stung with more than just dust and I hung my head. Shame and anger bubbled up in me, and I flicked the flashlight on and off absently. The steady clicking was grounding, but not quite enough.

I heard someone shuffling behind me but didn't move. I didn't care. The footsteps grew closer until whoever it was stood right beside me, and eventually sat down.

I hated my parents. Hated them for everything they had done, to me and others. I couldn't talk back, couldn't voice my opinion-not without that damn bell stopping me. Maybe if I could get rid of it? No, they would just buy another.

My eyes watered with hatred and self-pity. I couldn't help anyone. Not even myself.

I was shocked when the person next to me gripped me in a tight hug. I pathetically tried to brush him off with the flashlight, but I couldn't. He had come back. He found me. He cared.

I buried my head in Dipper's shoulder. Behind us I heard something move.

* * *

~εїз εїз εїз~

* * *

Ironically enough, that wasn't the worst part of that night. The ghost had nothing on my parents' wrath, that was for sure. Not to say I blamed the ghost; at least he had a good reason to be mad.

"A Northwest does not behave this way." My mother's condescending tone made me duck my head. Oh, how I hated that tone. The "we are your parents and we know best" tone always got under my skin. But I couldn't argue. I was too scared.

"You directly disobeyed us." My father hissed, and I winced. It had been worth it, I had to believe that. I convinced myself, just barely, that death would have been worse than anything my parents could do. Just. Barely.

"And that _dress_." My mother 'tsked' and eyed me with disdain, "I said sea-foam green, and you change it to that hideous color!"

Ah. That had been a stressful decision in itself, but I wanted to stand out among the crown of stuffy older people. It had worked, to some extent. Actually everyone else had seemed to like it, but that didn't matter so long as my mother thought it was a bad choice.

Father held the bell in his hands with a contemplative look. His brows drew together in anger, and I braced myself for whatever would happen next.

 ** _Dingaling. Dingaling. Dingaling._**

I cringed as he waved the bell harshly in my face. "You know what this means, Pacifica? _Do you know!?_ "

"Y-yes sir."

" _Really?_ " He stopped, and the harsh silence seemed even more concerning than the ringing of the bell. His booming voice soon interrupted the quiet. "Because you didn't seem to know what it meant earlier!"

"People were turning to wood!"

"Not _us_ , though! _We_ were fine!" He glared at me, his grip on the bell causing his knuckles to turn white. I understood what he was going to do before he even moved, and I shut my eyes tight.

When I opened them again, I was on the floor and felt like I had been hit by a truck. I wanted to puke, I wanted to run, but fear and shock had me frozen in place.

My mother looked shocked, but she didn't say a word. Father, on the other hand, looked resigned.

"This is your last chance to straighten up, or we'll find someplace else for you. This is not how a Northwest acts."

The implications made my blood run cold. He didn't mean a boarding school, I knew because that was a common threat. He meant something else entirely, and I couldn't tell how serious he was about it.

My head throbbed, and I looked at the ground. "Yes, sir."

I was sent to bed after that, and I headed to my room on wobbly legs. One of the maids took one look at me and gasped before she ushered me to a hall bathroom.

Father hitting me wasn't a common occurrence-especially since I had learned to obey the bell-but it had happened enough that the staff knew about it. Usually I put up a fight about being babied over it, but my heart hadn't been in it that night. I needed someone to care; even if it was only one nameless maid doing her job.

I hadn't realized how bad it was until we had gotten to the bathroom and I had looked in the mirror. Above my left eye was a smear of blood, and that made my heart race. The maid assured me that it wasn't a deep cut, though, and she soon bandaged it up. I muttered a thank you-much to her surprise-and quickly left the room as soon as she was done.

I was too tired and numb to care about whether I should go to sleep after such an injury. I slowly pulled my pajamas on and crawled into bed, thoughts of hours before busy in my mind.

My thoughts trailed to Dipper, and how he had been willing to help my family even after realizing we tricked him. He was a good guy, that much I could say. I admired his bravery. It wasn't easy to take on ghosts and demons, but he did it without much of a problem from what I could tell. I wanted to be brave like him, but I knew I was only a cowardly Northwest.

I rolled over and stared out my window. He had given me another chance. Even after all I had done, even after how I treated him and his sister. Everything I had done or said to them over the past few years slowly crept up to me, and I felt a hot ball of guilt in my stomach. Sure, we had been on pretty neutral terms since the... golfing incident... But I had never made it up to them.

 _I should_ , I decided. They deserved better than what I had given them, that was for sure. My disdain for them had come from my parents, but that didn't make me any less wrong.

 _I'm learning._ I smirked to myself. Maybe if I made it up to them, we could be friends.

Not that my parents would approve. But... I didn't care about their approval anymore. I wanted to lay low, sure, but I didn't want to just blindly listen to them anymore. I wasn't some trained monkey.

...Okay so I had gotten close to being one. My forehead stung from the wound on my head, a blatant reminder of my parents' true influence over me.

I sighed to myself and closed my eyes. I felt exhausted, but I wasn't really tired, and that irritated me. I was just about to turn over again when my bedroom door slowly swung open.

"Pacifica?"

Father's voice was soft, "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, Dad." The words were quiet and almost sticky in my throat. I knew what was coming, and it made me feel guilty.

"Listen. About tonight."

"I know." I sat up as he walked closer to me, "You're just doing-"

"What's best for you." He smiled. "Exactly." He gently moved my bangs out of the way and gazed at the wound on my head. He nodded to himself and kissed the other side of my forehead. "Get some sleep, Princess. Tomorrow we'll buy tickets to that boy band you've been talking about, okay?"

"Okay." It was a hollow offer. I didn't even like the band, Mabel did. And he couldn't even name it. But I knew what he was trying to do, and went along with it. I laid back down and he left the room again. Alone with the darkness, I realized I had been crying.

It matched perfectly with the weather outside, which had turned dark and stormy. With the moon blotted out my room was plunged into darkness, and I finally fell asleep.

 _What a rainy ending given to a perfect day._

* * *

 **AN: Yes, original I know, an abused!Pacifica story! But, this idea is very dear to me as an abuse survivor myself, and I needed to get this written. Not 100% sure where I'm going with this, so thoughts and requests are always welcome.**


	2. Negative Connotations

Dipper POV

* * *

Before I begin, I want to be perfectly honest:

Stan as mayor would have been a horrible idea.

I mean yeah, sure , it would have been fun for a bit, but it was still Stan. Add on to that, he was still under Ford's identity, so that wouldn't have ended well. And I'm sure Great Uncle Ford would have been mad.

But we wanted to try. He wanted to be mayor, so naturally we wanted to help him. Things got messy for a bit, though, and we just couldn't take it. It's for the best that Stan didn't win. At least, that's what I hope. All his talk of not getting younger and wanting to do something… It scared me, somewhat.

So needless to say, it had been a busy couple of days. Heck, it had been a busy summer, but it was easy to tell that something big was on its way. With Ford back, Pacifica on our side, and Gideon on the rise, it wasn't hard to imagine something bigger on the horizon. What it was no one knew, not even Ford.

Speaking of Pacifica, I had gone a few days without talking to her. In fact, her parents hadn't even taken a big part at the mayor election, which was weird considering the old mayor had been at their party…

That thought lingered in my mind for a moment, but the mayor was old and at some point conspiracy theories turned into accusations of murder and I didn't want to go through that again.

My thoughts drifted back to Pacifica, and a flicker of worry flashed through me. I hadn't seen her at all since the party. I mean, sure sometimes she disappeared for a few days, but after the way she talked about her parents that night I was suddenly worried.

I felt bad for not having thought of her before, but we had kind of been busy with the whole portal-to-hell opening in our basement thing.

"Hey Mabel, have you seen Pacifica lately?" I turned to my sister, who was sprawled out on her bed. She looked at me a bit surprised.

"No, not since the party." She admitted, "Why? Miss her?"

Her teasing tone had me on the verge of blushing, but I frowned and shook my head. "Hrm. Sort of. I'm worried about her. Isn't it weird that her parents didn't throw a fuss about the election or anything?"

"I guess so." She shrugged, "Do you think we should check on her?"

I thought back to what her parents had acted like at the party, and immediately decided against it. We would be kicked out at best, and that wouldn't help anything.

"No, I don't think her parents would let us in." I saw the look on her face at that, and immediately knew what she was thinking. "And we're not going to break in. I'll go ask Grunkle Stan about it."

She huffed and pouted, but I wasn't about to let her convince me to break into the Northwest Mansion. That was a terrible idea, and I knew terrible ideas!

I slowly pulled myself off of my bed and into a standing position. I reached my arms over my head and stretched as I walked across the room. Once I was out of Mabel's sight, however, I quickened my pace. The last thing I wanted was Mabel teasing me about liking, ugh, Pacifica Northwest.

"Grunkle Stan?" I wandered around for a moment as I looked for my grunkle. I felt concern slowly rise in my stomach as the thought of Pacifica being missing began to grab at my mind, and I bit my lip.

I had probably gotten her in trouble. It had been necessary, of course, but I hadn't offered to help her, or checked on her or anything. Guilt hit me as I realized she had probably been grounded, which would explain her disappearance.

"Grunkle–" I started as I heard someone walk behind me, but quickly corrected myself. "Great uncle Ford!"

"Hmph?" The man grunted and looked up from his notepad. He smiled when he saw me, and I smiled back. "Well hello, Dipper!"

A slight giddiness rose within me as I grinned. "Hiya Great Uncle Ford! Hey, can I ask a question?" I realized he may know more about how Pacifica may have been treated than I, and was eager to question him about it.

He gave me a weary look–something I didn't blame him for–and hesitantly agreed.

The image of the Northwest's bell flashed into my head, and I wondered how they had trained Pacifica to react so badly to the bell. I decided that would be my first question.

"What do you know about… Um…" I tried to think of how to word the question, "Conditioning? Like, conditioning people to react negatively to something?"

He gave me a worried look with something like panic in it. I realized how that must have sounded and backpedaled.

"I-I mean," I said quickly, "If I know someone who is conditioned like that, how do I know _how_ they were conditioned?"

"Hm, well there could be a lot of factors involved… Here, follow me."

We walked into the kitchen where Grunkle Stan was sitting at the table. We sat by him, but he didn't acknowledge us.

"Well," Ford began again, "If they react negatively to something, it could be that something bad happened regarding that thing in particular. Not necessarily a conditioned behavior."

"What if it's like a cue? And their behavior changes when introduced to that thing?"

"And they react negatively?" At my nod, Ford exhaled a deep breath. "Sounds like a negative stimulant. Pain or punishment of some kind associated with that thing."

He went on to describe how such a trigger could be developed, but I stopped listening. The pain part stuck out to me. Punishment made sense, but the pain part scared me. Was Pacifica hurt when faced with the bell? Is that why she didn't want to disobey? Not because of fear of rejection or grounding or anything, but of pain? That would explain why she was so hesitant to pull the lever. As morbid as it was, the idea that she would have preferred being turned to wood than disobeying her parents made a lot more sense.

"Dipper? You okay?" Ford's concerned tone snapped me out of my thoughts, ans I saw him and Stan looking at me with worry.

I wanted to tell him what I was thinking, but I was unsure. I didn't want to make Pacifica's situation worse, and I didn't even know for sure what was going on. But all the same, I knew she probably needed help.

"Yeah." I said nervously, "Yeah, I'm fine. I have to, uh, go–" I got up from my seat and ran from the room. I could hear Ford and Stan call behind me, but I ignored them and trudged upstairs.

Pacifica could be hurt. Or she could be fine and be grounded. But I thought to that bell, and I knew that wasn't likely. Something was wrong, and I needed to find out what.

"Mabel, get your grappling hook."


	3. Breaking and Entering

Pacifica POV

* * *

My punishment passed rather smoothly, with only my phone and dinner taken away for a few days. I got off easy, really, compared to past groundings.

And, of course, I got tickets to Two Routes. They were okay, but the real reason I got them was to possibly give to the Pines twins. I knew Mabel and her friends would probably love it, and I hoped to start making amends with them soon. Boy bands were probably a good place to start.

When I finally got my phone back I was relieved. Isolation was the worst punishment, something my parents knew full well. My friends had sent a few texts, but soon caught on to my grounding so they stopped abruptly. It made me sad, that they didn't seem to really care. But I thought back to how I had treated them in the past, and I knew it was my fault. I wasn't a good friend, so I shouldn't expect them to be, either.

I sprawled out on my bed and blew my bangs out of my face. The wound on my head was mostly healed, but I had been told it would scar. Nothing some makeup couldn't fix, but still it hurt that I would have the imprint of the bell on my face. Just seeing it scared me a little, which of course made me feel weak.

I already had a story for it. Something about some servants not knowing how to watch where they were going. They had been fired, of course, and replaced, and yes I was fine.

I knew it would hold up, it had happened before (though not to that extent) and no one ever questioned it. Dipper may wonder about it, but I assured myself that he wouldn't stir up trouble.

It was a lie, of course, and he certainly would. But I would burn that bridge when I got to it.

I closed my eyes tight and wished that I didn't have to lie about it, but I couldn't deny that I deserved it. After everything I had done in the past, Dipper especially shouldn't pity me. I was on my own, just like it should be.

I opened my eyes and rubbed away the unexpected tears. I had cried enough over the past few days, and I wasn't about to start again. It was unfit for a lady, as my mother would say. Not that I cared what she thought, but it didn't stop me from using that excuse.

A strange buzzing sound distracted me from my thoughts and I noticed the power surge suddenly. The light bulb in my lamp flickered for a moment, before all of the lights went out and my room was drenched in darkness. In the dark of the room I sat up slowly and I felt the hairs on my arms stand up.

 _That's... Odd._

I moved slowly to the window and looked out. My heart beat quickly in my chest and I grasped the curtains tightly. No storm, no ghost, gravity still worked. The only odd thing was the forms that seemed to slip across our side yard.

Oh.

I frowned. What monster was it this time? Surely not a robber, people around here were questionable but not that much so. So naturally the only logical explanation was a monster of some sort.

 _What is my life?_

Of course, the monster theory didn't hold up for long. A grappling hook (preceded by a soft cry of "GRAPPLING HOOK!") launched up at my balcony, and I hissed and narrowed my eyes. Of course, the only people annoying enough to try and break into _my mansion_.

Pines.

I quickly scrambled across my room to the sliding doors and yanked them open just as two familiar brunettes grabbed onto the bars. Their sheepish grins met my scowl, but it was a servant's voice through the door that wiped the look off of their faces.

"Miss Northwest," I heard someone say through the door, "Everything alright in there? There seems to be a power outage."

 _No duh._

"I'm fine!" I called back, "Tell Mother and Father I'm going to bed!" I added hastily, "Please!"

"Very well, ma'am." The voice moved away, and I glared at the twins standing in front of me. I waited a few seconds for the servant's footsteps to fade before I spoke.

"What have you done?"

"Blocked all power to your house so that we could sneak in! We used this cool thing that Uncle Ford gave us, only I don't think he knew he gave it to us but Dipper says we're borrowing it. It can blog power and internet and everything!" Mabel chattered excitedly and held her grappling hook close to her. I leaned back a bit as the thing pointed towards me. Dipper hushed his sister and laughed nervously as he pointed the hook away from us.

"We wanted to check on you! We haven't seen you since the party."

I could hear worry underneath his awkward way of speaking, and I felt something warm inside of me. He was actually worried? They both were? Enough to knock out the power to my house and break in... Wow...

I kept telling myself I didn't want their pity or their help, but I could feel myself breaking. "I...I'm fine, thank you." I said, a bit more sincere and less bitter than I had planned on saying it. Before I could spill my guts, however, I turned and walked back into my room. They followed close behind and watched silently as I reached into my dresser and pulled out five pieces of paper.

"Just as well," I turned and waved the papers in the air, "I have something for Mabel, anyways."

Said girl squealed and grabbed the papers out of my hand before I could give them to her. I rolled my eyes at the rude behavior, but I couldn't deny that part of getting the tickets had also been seeing her reaction. It felt... Nice, to give someone something they wanted like that. It wasn't something I was used to doing-at least, not for something in return. But I didn't want, or expect, something in return from the twins. I only hoped for something like friendship.

"Two Routes tickets?!" Dipper barely covered her mouth in time as the girl yelled, and looked at the door worriedly. I suppressed a smile.

"My parents got them for me, but I figured you were a bigger fan than I am." I waved the action off, but she launched herself at me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Her voice was loud and right in my ear, and that was far closer to Mabel than I had ever counted on getting. I blanched and tried to pull away, while Dipper gave an amused-and maybe even impressed-look.

"Shh!" I hissed as I attempted to pry her off, "Do you want to wake the whole mansion?" I knew she wouldn't, since my room was far away from the others (more of that isolation stuff, but also some out-of-sight-out-of-mind stuff), but her voice started to get on my nerves.

I was trying to be nicer, not a saint.

"Right!" She stage whispered, "But seriously! This is so cool! Thank you!" She giggled and finally pulled back. I took a few dramatic deep breaths, wiped off my outfit, and regained my calm and cool composure.

"That's pretty nice of you, Pacifica." Dipper noted, "And you got enough for all of her friends to go." He gave me a proud smile, and I felt a bit of pride bubble up in me.

"And then some!" Mabel cut in, "Me, Candy, and Grenda, but Wendy doesn't like them so that would leave Dipper-" The boy stuck out his tongue and I smiled a bit-"Hey! That means you could come with us, Paz!"

The nickname through me off the most, and I stared. Suddenly the twins shared a look and broke out in massive grins. A sense of impending doom ran up my spine.

"Road trip with Pacifica!" They yelled. I hushed them and they repeated it in a whisper, " _Road trip with Pacifica!_ "

Actually, it did sound like fun. A real road trip, with possibly real friends. Of course there was their car, which was a mess but... It meant spending time with the twins, non monster related (hopefully) and it was away from my parents. My parents flashed into my mind just then, and I knew they would never allow it. Of course, they didn't have to know I was going with the Pines... And it wasn't for a week, so I had plenty of time to plan a lie...

"...Okay, I'll go." This time the hug was from both twins, and I blushed bright red at the attention. "But no more hugging!"

"You know what would make this perfect?" Mabel glanced at her brother, who nodded and smiled impishly-something I had never seen him do, be fore they both turned to me. "A sleep over!"

Sleep...over? At the Mystery Ha-um, Shack? My disdain must have showed, because both twins shrunk back a bit. Mabel offered a nervous smile, "I-I mean, it would be cool, but maybe some other time!" She glanced between me and Dipper. Her brother wore a concerned yet embarrassed look.

That's when I started to catch on. They knew more than I had suspected, or at least Dipper did.

I hesitated for a moment and looked back at the door. I wouldn't be missed until the next evening at the earliest, and it would be my first chance to get out in days. The cons, though, would be Dipper's snooping. And of course the Shack... Would Stan even approve of this? Who knew. He could turn me away at the door... That scared me.

My mind wandered in that direction, and I wondered if Stan would be mad at me. What if I got in trouble over there somehow? Would he be mad? Would he send me back? The anxiety that came with thinking about adults struck me, and my mouth felt dry. It almost didn't seem worth it. Everywhere I went there would be adults... But Dipepr and Mabel seemed to like Stan, so maybe... Maybe it wouldn't be so bad?

Dipper looked concerned again, and added, "You don't have to come over, it was just an offer to! It's kind of late and a spur of the moment thing..." He trailed off awkwardly, and I could see in his eyes that whatever plan he had had fallen apart. I almost felt satisfied at the lost look on his face... Almost...

"Actually... You're right." I turned to Mabel and attempted a grin, "A sleepover sounds perfect." Their shocked faces soon turned happy, and I cut in, "but, please, let's just go out the back door."


	4. Rocky Night

Sneaking Pacifica out of her house was, at the very least, thrilling. She said she had never snuck out successfully before, which surprised me. With how her parents were, I would have thought that she snuck out at every opportunity. But apparently she had always gotten caught, and that was enough to make her stop trying.

Mabel and I assured her that we would get her out with no problem, and thankfully we actually managed to not cause any trouble until we got back to the Shack. Pacifica hadn't been a fan of the grappling hook method of getting down, but hey things happen!

When we got back to the Shack, though, it was so late that it was almost early. Grunkle Stan had gone to bed long before, so we got through the front door and almost to the stairs before we realized there was someone else to watch out for.

"Dipper! Mabel!" Great Uncle Ford's stern voice made us all jump, and I felt Pacifica and Mabel both grip my arms in surprise. Mabel let go with a sigh of relief when she saw who it was, but Pacifica's shy grip on my arm didn't let up.

"Grunkle Ford! You scared the daylights out of me!" Mabel said with a nervous laugh. The man in front of us scowled down at us, unamused and not buying it.

"Do you kids have any idea what time it is? Where _were_ you? And who's-" His eyes wandered to Pacifica, as if he just noticed her. His face turned curious and concerned as he watched the girl that gripped my arm.

"You're bleeding."

My eyes grew wide and I looked at Pacifica. Sure enough, a drip of blood had worked it's way down her left temple. I hadn't known she had gotten hurt, and breifly panicked at the thought that we had hurt her with the grappling hook.

"Oh my gosh!" Mabel yelled, which made Pacifica and I jump again.

Pacifica wiped at her forehead, which smeared more blood across her face. "...Huh... So I am..." Her tone made me want to gag. The pessimism in her tone made my skin crawl. People shouldn't react to injuries like that... Least of all a kid.

"I have unicorn band aids upstairs!" Mabel offered. Before Pacifica could argue she ran upstairs and disappeared from sight.

While Mabel got the band aids Great Uncle Ford ushered Pacifica gently to the bathroom. I noticed his change in attitude. He changed from stern to gentle within seconds, just at the look on Pacifica's face. Of course, it probably helped that she was bleeding, too. Still, even with his gentle behavior, he couldn't hide his awkward nature (not that I had room to talk, of course) and he didn't seem to know what to do with his hands.

At first he placed a hand on Pacifica's shoulder, but that soon turned to a small wave to move her along. He couldn't settle his hands, and I wondered ifthat had always been a quirk of his. It made sense; if you have an extra finger, you dwell on it. Even someone as old as him, I guess.

He fiddled with his fingers (which she stared at curiously) until he reached the bathroom. He reached into the cabinet and pulled out band aids, gauze, and antiseptic, which made Pacifica shift backwards nervously.

"Let me see what we're dealing with." Ford said softly, but his tone left no room for argument. Pacifica glanced over her shoulder at me, and I froze at the uncertainty in her eyes. Was she asking me? That certainly wasn't the Pacifica I knew.

I offered a small smile in response. For whatever reason she wanted my answer, so I gave it. "C'mon, get patched up so we can go to sleep."

Her head tilted down, she pulled back her bangs from the side of her face. I couldn't see it from my position, but Ford's face said everything. It was bad.

He grabbed a washcloth and got it wet in the sink. Before he used it, though, he turned to me and said "Keep Mabel out of here for a minute, will ya, kid? I can't have her bouncing around in here right now."

"I'll wait outside." I offered, since I knew that was what he really wanted. I could keep Mabel out, and stay close just in case. Pacifica turned her head sligtly in my direction but she didn't say anything, so I slipped out the door and closed it behind me.

...Okay, so I snooped. But it was for good reason! I felt guilty that we may have hurt Pacifica, and with the way she acted I didn't want to leave her alone. Call it a brother instinct.

I leaned towards the door and could hear inside perfectly; really, was that my fault?

"It's alright, I just gotta wipe this off." Ford's voice was gentle again. One thing I noticed about his 'gentle' voice was it was like how someone would talk to a young child. I guess he didn't have much experience around kids, or didn't like them much.

Pacifica didn't respond, so I guess she didn't resist. I heard her hiss in pain, though, and I gripped the door frame.

"This is deep, kid. How long has it been like this?"

"Couple of days." Pacifica's voice was soft and shy, with a guilty tone to it.

 _A couple of days? So we didn't hurt her_. I thought with relief. It was short lived, of course, as I realized she had been hurt for a while. That seemed suspicious.

"Couple of days?" Ford's surprised tone changed to one of concern. "Why didn't your parents take you to the doctor? Or a hospital? This might need stitches..."

I winced at the thought of stitches. They were no fun, that was for sure.

"They thought it would heal on its own." I could hear the lie through the door, and that hurt too.

"Hm... Well, I can put this stuff on it, and that should work. If it gets worse, though, you _will_ need to see a doctor. How did you even get this? It looks like a-"

"It was an accident." Pacifica cut in, "I'll be fine."

"Hey! I got the-"

I about jumped out of my skin as Mabel placed a hand on my shoulder. I turned and hissed "Don't sneak up on me!"

"Don't eavesdrop!" She countered with a cheeky grin, and I couldn't top that. She was right, of course. "I found the band aids!"

"I think this is more than a band aid job." I admitted, "It sounds pretty serious." I saw the same look of guilt cross her face, and assured her it wasn't because of us. Of course that only helped so much, since our friend was still hurt, but it was better than nothing.

When the door opened we both turned to see Ford standing in the doorway. His expression was solemn and eerie, and we both backed up.

"Mabel, you show Pacifica to you guys' room. Dipper, come with me."

"Come on Paz! We can share my bed, or we can kick Dipper out of his and-"

Pacifica and Mabel disappeared up the stairs. I followed Ford through the house, but we met Grunkle Stan on the way.

"What are you guys doing awake at this hour?" He demanded, "And why the hell is _Pacifica Northwest_ here? She better not be-"

"Keep it _down_." Ford hissed, "Come outside. I'll explain.

I glanced around and wondered why he needed to leave the house entirely to talk to us. Unless something paranormal had happened? And the others couldn't know? My interest piqued at the thought.

"That your friend that's been... conditioned?"

His question halted my thoughts, and I looked at him with wide eyes. I had forgotten our earlier conversation. That would explain why he had been so calm, despite his initial anger at us for staying out late. The way he said conditioned seemed odd, though, like that wasn't the word he wanted to use.

"...Yes." I decided there was no point in lying; he knew anyways.

He nodded and looked up at the sky for a minute. He looked at Stan, who seemed about ready to burst.

"Stan," Ford said slowly, "Pacifica might be staying for a little bit."

"What? You want a _Northwest_ in our house?" He grouched, "As if! You know how much trouble she's caused? She-"

" _She_ is a _little girl_ who needs somewhere to stay." Ford said firmly. He looked at me. "You two did the right thing to bring her here, though you didn't know it."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." Ford turned to Stan, "And it's my house, if I recall. It's not up to you."

Stan clenched his jaw, but his attitude had fizzled. Something about the conversation had him uneasy, and I couldn't quite understand why.

"Wait, she's my friend! Of course this is something I should worry about!" I said indignantly. I ignored their shared annoyed look. "I-we brought her here, shouldn't Mabel and I know what's going on, too?"

"Not now, kid." Ford said, "This needs to stay between us. Leave Pacifica alone for now, okay? She'll probably tell you in her own time."

I knew he was right, but I didn't like it. Fear and suspicion crept up, and I couldn't help but wonder what was so bad about Pacifica's situation. I mean yeah, the bell thing was creepy and weird, but Ford acted like that wasn't even what he was talking about. It didn't sit right with me. Pacifica was hurt, and I didn't know-

"Wait, did her parents-"

"That's enough, Dipper." Ford silenced me quickly, and that answered my question. "We don't know the full situation, and until she asks for help..."

"But what if she doesn't ask for help?" My voice rose in pitch, "When she goes back, will she-"

"Easy, Dipper," Grunkle Stan placed a hand on my shoulder, "It'll be okay. We'll figure out what to do in the morning. How about you go to sleep? Make sure the girls don't stay up too late."

I knew they were going to talk without me, but I couldn't argue. Ford pushed me along back inside, and I trudged back to my room. The urge to listen to them talk more was strong, but I knew it wouldn't be any good. And Ford had a point, as much as I hated to admit it. Pacifica could tell me herself.

I stared up the stairs for a long moment and sighed. I just hoped she wouldn't wait too long to ask for help.

Or that it wasn't already too late.


	5. Nose Goes

**A fluffy chapter yay! Oooh but you know what that means for the next one ;)**

 **So um I hate to do this, but I would like at least 15 total reviews before the next chapter is released! That's just four more, at the moment, so I don't think that's too much?**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Pacifica POV**

* * *

Staying with the Pines was... surreal. Never before had I ever thought that one day I would stay at a house such as theirs. And, of course, I wasn't entirely impressed with the shack itself.

When Ford had snuck up on us, I felt about ready to faint. I was so scared that I would be in trouble, and get sent home. The twins hadn't seemed worried, but I feared punishment more than just about anything else.

It was kind of him to patch up the cut on my face, though, and wasn't something I had expected. The wound hadn't completely healed (in part because of me picking at it) and his work helped it feel a good bit better, even if some of it had hurt.

His help embarrassed me, though. And his pitying look. And his gentle tone that spoke down to me.

I wanted to be snarky, to tell him I didn't need help, but I didn't know if he would punish me for it.

Maybe it was extreme, but I never trusted adults I didn't know. Sure, I would boss a lot around and be a brat, but I was in his house. The twins had invited me over. What if he go mad at me? What if he sent me back to my parents? I couldn't take that risk.

So I kept my mouth shut as he fixed me up. And I only flinched the _first_ time he raised his hand.

When Mabel dragged me to the twins' room I finally realized just how tired I was. My eyes burned from lack of sleep, and every time I blinked they threatened to spill tears.

Mabel did quick work, turning down the beds and moving her stuff to Dipper's bed so she could sleep there and I in hers. For a while I sat on her bed and listened as she droned on about the concert. I was glad she was so excited about it, but I couldn't bring myself to listen for several reasons. The main one was that I was tired, but I also felt so out of place. I didn't think I deserved to be in her company, with the way I had treated her before.

I had just started to nod off when Dipper entered the room, a scowl on his face. I shrunk back into the covers at his look.

"What's wrong, Bro-Bro? Cranky?" Mabel teased, but Dipper wouldn't budge.

"Pacifica-" He started, and turned towards me. I cringed. He wanted to talk, to ask about my forehead, but I didn't want to tell him about it. I was grateful, sure, but the less he knew, the safer he would be.

"Not tonight, Dip-Dip." Mabel waved him off, "It's late. We should get some sleep if we want to optimize Pacifica visiting tomorrow!"

It almost sounded like a threat. If it hadn't been Mabel, it probably _would_ have been a threat.

Dipper huffed and stomped around for a minute as he gathered his things, and went to sleep on the couch. Mabel turned off the light and we settled down again, and this time it was silent.

The bed was uncomfortable, and the blankets were itchy. There was little A/C. There were _bugs_.

And yet... As I laid there, I felt comfortable. And safe. It wasn't something I could say about home, but it was something I could say about the Pines' house.

* * *

When I woke up it was almost eleven, and my head hurt terribly. I wasn't used to staying up late or sleeping in, and as I sat up I could feel my body protesting. I reached up to hold my head and winced when my hand grazed the bandaged wound on my forehead. At least the bandage had stayed on through the night.

After a few moments of confusion, I realized that Mabel wasn't in bed. With that realization I slowly came to my senses. I could smell food downstairs, and hear people outside. The day had begun for the others in the house, and I felt a bit embarrassed at sleeping in.

I got out of bed and smoothed back my hair and straightened my shirt. Just because I was in the Mystery Shack didn't mean I had to look like a Pines. With a huff to myself I walked downstairs and fully embraced the smell of grease.

My stomach growled and my mouth watered at the sight and smell of bacon, something that was under-used at my house.

"Pacifica!" Mabel's overly cheery voice made me frown a bit, but I managed a small smile when I turned to look at her. They cleared a spot at the table and got me a plate filled with delicious looking breakfast foods. I sat awkwardly as I watched them all talk about various things about the day and I fiddled with my food. I managed to get a few bites down before Mabel spoke to me again.

"What do you want to do today, Paz?" There was that nickname again, and I found myself smiling.

I shrugged. "I don't know. What do you guys normally do around here?"

The twins shared a look, which confused me. They laughed and Dipper said, "Well, you know, things like hide and seek, or board games, stuff like that."

That was a lie, I could tell, but I didn't understand why. What did they normally do? Talk bad about me in their spare time?

...I thought back to the day of the party and realized that might actually be true.

I frowned. "Ah. Well, I don't normally do those things." My snobbish voice couldn't be helped, but they didn't seem to be too affected.

"Let's play hide and seek first!" Mabel cheered, "Dipper's it!"

"I was it first last time!"

"Okay, okay." Mabel stuck out her tongue, "We'll do... Nose Goes!"

I watched in confusion as Mabel and Dipper stuck a finger on their noses. They turned to look at me, and I realized that whatever Nose Goes was, I had lost.

"I guess... I'm it?"

"Count to twenty!" Dipper yelled as he ran out of the room, his sister not far behind. I turned to their great uncles with a confused look.

"Best to just play along." Ford chuckled, "Less headaches."

Stan nodded but didn't say anything, and I sighed and started counting.

* * *

The twins knew the house a lot better than I did. It took me a long time to even start trying to look for them, and by the time I did I had lost interest in the game. I considered leaving and letting them figure it out (that could have been funny) but I knew I owed them more than that.

I felt awkward in their house, for sure. Their uncles kept looking at me weird, and Dipper seemed even more troubled than usual. Mabel seemed fine, but she was harder to read than the others. For all I knew she could be mad at me still.

But I had given her those tickets, so maybe that would help our 'friendship' a bit. That was the plan, anyways, and it seemed like a pretty good one. Well, it did to me, and I was the only one that mattered.

I groaned as I close yet another door. I couldn't find the twins anywhere, and it started to give me a headache. I rubbed the bandage on my forehead gently and scowled at the hallway around me.

"I give up."

The second the words left my mouth, Mabel exploded from the room beside me and cheered. "That means I win! DIPPER! We won!"

"Wow, Pacifica-" I heard his voice from upstairs (why hadn't I looked there?) "-You suck at this game!"

"Yeah, well, I've never played it." I huffed, "No one to play with, no reason to play."

"Ooh, only child woes?" Mabel patted my shoulder, "That stinks."

I shrugged. "I have other things to do, though. Tennis, minigolf, piano, I don't have time for much else."

"What about in your spare time?" Dipper asked as he finally joined us in the hall, "What do you do then?"

I blinked at the question. "Spare time?"

"Like hobbies!" Mabel grinned.

"Uh... Shop, I guess? I don't get much spare time." It was true; my schedule was full almost everyday. Any spare time I had was spent recovering from the full workload the rest of the time.

"Ooh, I love shopping! Of course, I make most of my own sweaters, but sometimes I can find really cool ones at the store!"

I thought it was cool that she made her own sweaters, even if they weren't the kind I would normally wear. I couldn't do anything like that.

"Eh, shopping is not a top five of mine." Dipper chuckled, "I'm more into, y'know, just hanging around."

I snickered at his attempt to sound cool, and he glared playfully at me. Mabel giggled, too and punched her brother's shoulder.

"What should we do, then? We could walk around town?" Dipper offered as he rubbed the spot his sister hit.

I thought about that, and it sounded better than staying around the Shack, but...

"If anyone sees me with you-I mean," I quickly corrected and held my hands up defensively, "If anyone tells my parents where I am I could get in trouble."

Dipper frowned but nodded, and Mabel shrugged.

"Then I guess that just leaves-" She punched her brother again, "TAG!"

Dipper yelped and jump to the side as his sister shoved her way past us, into the rest of the house.

He and I shared a look, and I smirked.

"Catch me if you can, Dipstick."


	6. The Worst

**Dipper POV**

* * *

Pacifica was better at tag than at hide and seek. She told us later that she ran for exercise a lot, which made sense given how fast she was. We promised to help her with hide and seek the next time she came over, though.

I noticed Grunkle Stan kept an eye on us a lot more than usual. He didn't seem to like Pacifica being around, which I could understand a bit, but it also made me upset. She was hurt, and he still acted like she was some kind of monster he had to watch. I mean yeah, it wasn't that long ago that Pacifica and I made up, but it was obvious that she was hurt, and _scared_. I wanted my Grunkles to help us, not alienate her even more.

Ford was the same, but in an opposite way. He kept an eye on Pacifica, but it was in a more protective way. He studied her. He watched as she made several snarky comments, only to feel bad. He smiled when she and Mabel made faces at each other. And... There was a look of pain on his face when Pacifica flinched back from the clattering of dishes in the kitchen.

It was a lot for all of use to take.

Luckily Mabel was pretty happy. She didn't know all of what was going on, but she suspected things. She was smarter than most give her credit for.

She knew just when to make Pacifica smile. If she started feeling down, Mabel would crack a joke or fall off of something to get Pacifca's attention. It worked, and together we all managed to pretend, just for a little bit, that we were normal kids without anything looming on the horizon.

* * *

Eventually, though, we had to send Pacifica back home.

I mean, we couldn't keep her (as much as we wanted to) because her parents would notice her missing _eventually_. But it was still a long and drawn-out event. I felt guilty-I'm sure we all did-at having to take her back. I was scared, even. We didn't know for sure what her life was like behind those mansion gates, and as much as Grunkle Ford wanted to hoard her under the Shack they were still the Northwests, and we were still just the Pines.

Mabel got extra clingy as we all got ready to drive Pacifica back. She gave her hugs and held onto her arm a lot, and while Pacifica put up with it I could tell it was something new and slightly annoying.

Our Grunkles weren't much better. Grunkle Stan still didn't know what to do about the situation, and still resented the Northwests. But it was him that made sure Pacifica ate a good lunch before we left.

And Grunkle Ford obviously fought the urge to keep Pacifica. He re-bandaged her wound and followed her around for a bit as we got ready to leave. His hovering was amusing, actually, especially when Pacifica would turn to me and roll her eyes.

I, on the other hand, was quiet. I played the in-between as the other smothered her, and pulled her away when I saw she needed it. I could tell part of her didn't like the attention; the strangers, the pity, but another part of her seemed to crave it. I realized later, much later, that it was the positive attention that she needed. She never got it at home.

By the time three o'clock rolled around we all shuffled to the car. Our Grunkles took the front seat and Mabel and I sat on either side of Pacifica. Mabel told jokes most of the time, which helped us all relax a bit.

We dropped Pacifica off a little bit away from the mansion to make sure her parents didn't see us. I got up to let her out, and we stood outside the car for a moment. She cast a sad look over her shoulder at her house, and looked back at us with a smile.

"Thank you for having me over." She nodded to my Grunkles and to Mabel before her eyes settled on me. _Thank you for helping me._ She didn't have to say it, I understood.

"Thanks for stopping by." _You're welcome._

"You're welcome by any time, Pacifica!" Ford called with a smile. She smiled her thanks and turned to me. "Maybe not in the middle of the night next time, though. I think we can all agree you need your beauty sleep."

I scoffed and crossed my arms. "Oh my gosh, Pacifica, you're the worst."

We froze both froze at the phrase. My eyes widened as white-hot shame ate through me. I tried to stutter out an explanation, but she stopped me.

"Wow, you get cranky, too, good to know." The laughter that came from the car was enough to get her to smile, and I grinned back sheepishly.

"We'll see you Friday, then?"

"Friday."

* * *

The ride home was quiet. Ford glanced back at me a few times, but every time I thought he would say something he turned back. It annoyed me, and I wasn't in the best mood by the time we got home.

The others headed inside, and Ford and I stayed by the car. I huffed and crossed my arms as I glared at him.

"What?"

"...We need to get her out of there."

I gaped at him. "What, like, kidnap her?"

"No," He frowned, "But... She can't stay there. It's not safe. And she's going to do something reckless eventually..." He trailed off and looked towards the house with a thoughtful look on his face. "Hmm... We need to make the Shack safe from Bill, too. Let's talk more inside."

I walked beside him back into the house, and couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. I wanted to help Pacifica, too, but I didn't know how to help besides kidnapping her again. I could only hope that Ford had a better idea...

* * *

 **A/N: So this is going to timeskip the Last Mablecorn, and pick back up at Roadside Attraction! So if you're not caught up, you might wanna watch that in the next few days!**

 **And thanks so much for the reviews! You guys are great; we reached 15 a few hours after the story updated :D If possible I'd like to continue that, and reach 20 before the next chapter releases! Stay awesome!**


End file.
